Game Notes: Hampton | Stanford

NORFOLK, Va. – The Hampton University women's basketball team will take on Stanford in the first round of the 2012 NCAA Women's Basketball Tournament at 1:40 p.m. on Saturday at the Ted Constant Convocation Center on the campus of Old Dominion University.

The game will be televised live on ESPN2 and streamed live on ESPN3.com. Radio coverage will also be available through WHOV 88.1 FM.

The Lady Pirates picked up the No. 16 seed in the Fresno Region, while Stanford, ranked No. 2 in the nation in both the Associated Press and ESPN/USA Today Coaches Polls, picked up a No. 1 seed after sweeping the Pac-12 regular season and tournament titles.

No. 8 seed West Virginia and No. 9 seed Texas will also be in Norfolk for the first and second rounds. Their first-round game will tip at 11:10 a.m. on Saturday.

Hampton (26-4) has won 11 straight games after beating Howard 54-53 on Saturday for its third straight MEAC Tournament title. The Lady Pirates, who set a school Div. I record for wins in a season, are making their third straight NCAA appearance and sixth overall.

Senior guard Jericka Jenkins (Lancaster, Texas) leads the team in scoring with 14.0 points a game, while sitting second in the nation with 7.2 assists per contest. Jenkins, the MEAC Tournament Most Outstanding Player and First Team All-MEAC selection, has 217 assists this season – second-most in program history and a program Div. I record.

Senior guard Choicetta McMillian (Fairfield, Texas) is averaging 13.6 points per game, and for the season she's hit 86 of her 238 3-pointers (2.9 per game, 12th in the nation). Her 86 3-pointers are the fourth-most in a single season in program history and a program Div. I record.

Junior forward Keiara Avant (Chesapeake, Va.) is the team's leading rebounder, sitting sixth in the MEAC with 8.1 boards per game. In her last seven games, Avant has five double-doubles; in that span, she is averaging 12.1 points and 11.6 rebounds per game.

She averaged 10.7 rebounds in the MEAC Tournament.

Stanford (31-1) is on a 28-game winning streak, and hasn't lost since a 68-58 defeat at Connecticut on Nov. 21. The Cardinal, in their 26th season under head coach Tara VanDerveer, are making their 25th straight NCAA appearance.

Senior forward Nnemkadi Ogwumike leads the team in both scoring (21.8 ppg) and rebounding (10.5 rpg), while younger sister Chiney Ogwumike, a sophomore forward, is second in both categories — averaging 15.8 points a contest and 10.3 rebounds per night.

Stanford is scoring 76.9 points per game, while giving up 54.7 points a night.

This will be the first-ever meeting between Hampton and Stanford.

The Lady Pirates are 0-1 all-time against teams currently in the Pac-12, with their only meeting coming on Dec. 21, 2005 at Cal (a 67-60 loss). Hampton has never faced Arizona, Arizona State, Colorado, Oregon, Oregon State, Stanford, UCLA, USC, Utah, Washington or Washington State.

The Lady Pirates have only had four neutral-court games so far this season, defeating Central Michigan 77-51 in the Tulane/DoubleTree Classic in New Orleans, La. on Dec. 28, beating Norfolk State 61-40 in the MEAC Tournament quarterfinals, beating Coppin State 64-43 in the semifinals and topping Howard 54-53 in the MEAC title game.

Hampton was 4-1 on neutral courts last season, its lone loss coming in overtime to Kentucky in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. As head coach, David Six is 12-3 on neutral courts — including back-to-back-to-back MEAC Tournament titles.

For more information on Hampton University basketball, please call the Office of Sports Information at (757) 727-5811, or visit the official Pirates website at www.hamptonpirates.com.